Magnetic guard rail



Oct. 19, 1965 J. LISS ETAL MAGNETIC GUARD RAIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 22, 1963 INVENTOR.

JULES LISS MARTIN LISS ATTORNEY Oct. 19, 1965 J. LlSS ETAL MAGNETIC GUARD RAIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 22, 1963 INVENTOR.

JULES LISS MARTIN LISS ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 3,212,755 MAGNETIC GUARD RAIL Jules Liss, Queens, and Martin Liss, Brooklyn, N.Y. (both of 1671 McDonald Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.) Filed Jan. 22, 1963, Ser. No. 253,208 7 Claims. (Cl. 25665) The present invention relates to a magnetic guard rail for medicine cabinets and the like.

A source of inconvenience in the ordinary household stems from the use of fiat unprotected shelves in medicine cabinets. Such shelves are often crowded with bottles, razors, medicine and many other items commonly found in such medicine cabinets. It can be appreciated that objects placed upon the shelves, particularly those that are placed in close proximity to the edges of said shelves are susceptible to movements which may cause the objects to be knocked over the edges. Thus, a person reaching into the cabinet for one item could, and often does, dislodge other items from the shelf. Very often the shelves are placed at such a height from the floor as to be above the eye level of persons, particularly younger and smaller people, who thus find it necessary to reach for objects that are hidden or partially hidden from direct view. In grouping about for said objects in this manner, the increased possibility of accidentally knocking other objects from the unprotected shelf can be readily understood.

Noting that it is dangerous to place objects near the edge of the shelf, the householder generally places the items rearwardly of the front edge. Thus a considerable and valuable amount of space is wasted by the desire to safeguard the contents of the cabinets.

In addition to the inconvenience caused as a result of dislodging items from the shelf, there is the ever present danger that objects such as bottles of medicine, when knocked from a shelf, will smash and send splinters hurtling through the air to lodge in the householder. As the price of medicines increases it becomes of greater importance to protect the many items stored in medicine cabinets. What is needed then is a guard rail to help prevent the accidental breakage, as has been explained above. The present invention provides an apparatus to accomplish this end.

In addition to providing an apparatus for preventing accidental dislodging of objects from shelves and substantially increasing usable shelf space, the present invention provides a device which may be adjusted to fit most medicine cabinets. Furthermore, the present apparatus is designed to take advantage of the fact that most medicine cabinets are fabricated from steel or include steel members. Thus the apparatus of this invention comprises a body member which supports the guard rail and which, in turn, is held in position on the shelf by the attractive force exerted on the metal by a magnetic field produced by a magnet attached to the body member.

The present invention is constructed so as to be readily applicable to mass production facilities thereby enabling the manufacturer to produce a relatively inexpensive device. In addition, the apparatus of this invention has been designed to be easily installed, removed or adjusted simply by manually pulling the device away from the magnet attracting cabinet elements. Furthermore, the installation may be accomplished without the aid of any tools. Thus, annoying and time consuming drilling and fastening of nuts and bolts is avoided, and a removable guard rail capable of being installed in seconds is provided.

It can be understood also that the present invention permits the installation without marring the surfaces of the cabinets or their shelves and thereby reducing their value, since there is no need for studs or bolts or hooks to be inserted therein.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a guard rail unit capable of installation on existing cabinet shelves.

Another object of this invention is to provide a guard rail unit that is held in place through the utilization of magnets.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a guard rail unit which may be easily installed.

A further object of this invention is to provide an adjustable guard rail unit.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a guard rail unit which may be installed without the use of tools.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a guard rail unit which may be installed without marring the surfaces upon which it is installed.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the invention will, in part, be pointed out with particularity and will, in part, become obvious from the following more detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which forms an integral part thereof.

In the various figures of the drawing like reference characters designate like parts.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational View of a magnetic guard rail.

FIG. 2 is a sectional vieW taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of an alternative embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of a still further embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged detail in perspective illustrating the clip support utilized in the embodiment of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a front elevation of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of the clip utilized in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an alternative clip support.

Turning now to the drawing, there is depicted in FIG. 1, the apparatus of this invention indicated in general by the numeral 10.

A plastic post 12, generally rectangular in shape but not restricted thereto, includes two apertures 14 and 16 spaced one above the other extending through the approximate center of said post in a plane that lies parallel to the front surface 18 of post 12, as shown more clearly in FIG. 2.

integrally formed with said front post 12 and depend ing rearwardly therefrom is a connecting rib 20b said rib being approximately the same width as post 12 and extending from the bottom section 22 thereof. Rib 20a is integrally formed with the bottom section 26 of body member 24. Members 12 and 24 normally rest upon nonmagnetizable shelf 28 and in combination with ribs a and 2012, form an adjustable unit. Rib 20a includes an apertured portion whereby rib 20b may slidably engage the aperture. Thus, a telescoping effect is achieved thereby allowing the unit to be adjusted to cabinets of various depths. Rear body member 24 is generally circular in shape although it could be formed in many other shapes without departing from the spirit of this invention. Set into recess 30 of body member 24 is a cup-shaped circular shell 32, said shell being suitably secured to the surfaces of the rear body member defined by recess 30, by adhesives well known in the art or by other suitable fastening means. A permanent magnet 34, slightly smaller in diameter than shell 32, but also of circular shape, is fitted into and suitably fastened to shell 32. The magnet is positioned so that in operation its face will be parallel to the steel surface 36 to which it will be attached, thus making maximum use of the magnetic forces of attraction.

Members 12 and 24 may be conveniently molded with one of any number of commercial plastics well suited to that purpose, provision being made for the inclusion of colors as desired. Shell 32 may be formed by stamping a suitable grade of steel which is then plated or sprayed to prevent oxidation when used in an atmosphere that is frequently very humid. Shell 32 also serves as the pole piece for magnet 34 and concentrates the magnetic field for better adhesion. Finally, it has been found that a flat magnet, cast in the shape of a disc and assembled as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, will provide an air space for the flux path which is completed by the steel of the supporting member (e.g., the wall of the cabinet).

Turning now to FIG. 1, it can be seen that a pair of integrally formed posts, rib and rear body members are utilized in cooperation with rod or railing members 38 and to form the apparatus of the present invention. Each rod member, which may be constructed of a plastic or other suitable material, is formed in one piece; however, a telescoping efiect may be achieved using apertured members similar to rib members 20a and 20b described hereinabove. The rod members 38 and 40, extending between posts 12 and 13, thus slidably engage said posts through apertures 14 and 16, and 17 and 19, respectively, and are supported thereby. Since, as has been explained hereinabove, rods 38 and 40 slidably engage posts 12 and 13, it will be understood that a certain degree of latitude has been provided to account for various widths of cabinets. Posts 12 and 13 may be moved closer towards each other up to a distance 2x and still provide double rail protection. This may be understood able for any width between this maximum and minimum for double rail protection.

In addition, the present invention may provide adjustable single rail protection for shelf widths of up to approximately twice the length of the rod. Thus, employing the same apparatus depicted in FIG. 1, it can be seen, by referring to FIG. 9, that by sliding posts 12 and 13 towards each other and extending rods 38 and 40, whereby one end of rod 38 is adjacent to wall 44 and one end of rod 40 is adjacent to wall 46, the effective length of the guard rail is almost doubled. A resilient clip 37, shown more clearly in FIG. 10, having two cylindrical bores 39 spaced one above the other and slots 41 transverse to the longitudinal axis of bores 39, are adapted to grip rod members 38 and 40 to hold the rods securely in place and to prevent posts 12 and 13 from moving apart or moving together, once the device has been positioned upon the shelf. For purposes of illustration, bores 39 measure approximately W in diameter and the width of slots 41 at their narrowest points are slightly smaller. Thus, due to the resilient nature of the material of which the clip is composed, said clip may be hand pressed onto rod members 38 and 40, which are slightly larger in diameter than the width of the slots.

From the foregoing, it can be understood that it would be relatively simple for the average householder to slip the posts onto the rods and place the entire unit into the cabinet such that the magnets will be attracted to the steel wall surface 36, thereby securing the guard rail device into its operating position. It will be noted that rods of various lengths may be provided to custom fit any size cabinet. In addition, it will be understood that by merely placing a plurality of rods in series, additional post members being utilized to connect the sets together, the width of shelf which the present invention will accommodate is extended indefinitely.

Turning now to the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, there is shown a magnetic guard rail apparatus which makes use of a steel shelf 68, rather than the steel wall surface of the first embodiment.

A plastic fabricated or comolded unit 45, comprised of a post 46, which is constructed of material similar to that used in the posts described hereinabove, has formed with= in it two apertures 48 and 50 spaced apart from each other, aperture 48 being positioned above aperture 50.- Both apertures extend parallel to the front surface 52 of post 46 and permit said rods to slide through them; the diameters of the apertures and rods being such as will provide a tight fit, thereby supplying sufiicient frictional force between them to prevent the rods from shifting to different positions than the ones at which they were set.

The upper portion 53 of post 46 has an inner surface slanted inwardly at 54, from which point the surface takes on a generally U shape, thereby forming U-shaped section 56 depending downwardly from upper portion 53. A circular section 58 is comolded to leg 60 of post 46 by methods well known in the art, forming a secure connec: tion therewith. A cup-shaped circular shell 62 holds magnet 64 similar in shape but smaller in diameter, said shell being adapted to be retained in a recess 61 formed in circular section 58. The magnet and shell are fastened to each other and to section 58 by any of a number of suitable means well known in the art.

A pair of comolded units, 45 and 47, such as described above, form, in combination with rods 38 and 40, in a manner similar to that described in the first embodiment, a guard rail apparatus which may be fastened to steel shelf 66 by utilizing the force produced by magnets 64. Again, it is a relatively simple task for the average householder to slip rods 38 and'40 through the appropriate apertures in units 45 and 47 and place he guard rail device so that magnets 64 will secure circular sections 58 and 59 to the underside 68 of steel shelf 66. The adjustable features of the first embodiment, as explained hereinabove, apply equally as well to this embodiment.

A third embodiment, depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7, provide for cabinets whose side walls 70 comprise steel ele ments to which a magnet may be attracted. Thus, discshaped plastic sections 72, holding magnets 76 and cupshaped shells 80 set in circular recesses 84, are comolded by means well known in the art with rod holding members 88. The magnets, shells and discs are fastened together in the same manner as set forth in the previously described embodiment.

Rod holding members 88 are generally rectangular in shape, as shown more clearly in FIG. 7. Apertures 92 and 93 extend through members 88 thereby providing a means for inserting rod members 38 and 40, respectively, therein. Apertures 92 and 93 allow the rods to slide into or out of the apertures, as described in the previous embodiments.

Groove 104 formed out of the bottom section of clip 96 (FIG. 8) extends parallel to the front race 102 along its entire length, but is cut out of the rear face 106. Groove 104 is shaped to provide a relatively narrow gap 108. The groove extends inwardly towards the front face a distance approximately three-fourths of the depth of the clip. One wall of groove 104 is tapered, thereby providing a seat portion 112 that is wider than the gap. The other wall 114 extends inwardly towards the front face, thus providing a flat surface facilitating smooth engagement with the underside of shelf 116. The gap 108 presents an opening which is slightly smaller than the width of the front face of shelf 116 so that the clip must be slightly bent to widen gap 108 and allow the shelf to fit into the groove. The resilient nature of the plastic material utilized permits the bending described above and also supplies the tension needed to supply the clip with a means to firmly grip the shelf.

The third described embodiment, as in the previous two, provides a device which the average householder may readily assemble and install in a relatively short time.

It can be seen from FIG. 6 that the third embodiment also provides an additional adjustable feature. Rods of fixed length inserted a short distance into their respective apertures in the magnet attached body members will provide a cabinet of the size shown with an acceptable guard rail. It can be understood that by sliding the rods further into the aperture a means is provided whereby the device is adjustable to cabinets of smaller width.

Optionally, center clip 96 may be utilized to supply additional support for rod members 38 and 40, thereby obviating any tendency of the rod members, especially those of long length, to sag at their middle portion. Center clip 96, composed of plastic material, is generally rectangular in shape, as shown more clearly in FIG. 8. Apertures 98 and 100 extend through the central portion of the clip parallel to front face 102, one above the other at a distance above groove 104 that will align them with apertures 92 and 93, respectively, thereby assuring the cooperation needed between the various elements.

A further option, pertaining to posts 12, 13 and 45 and 47, rod holding member 88, and clip 96, i illustrated in FIG. 11 where rod supporting member 122 includes slots 124. Thus it can be seen that slots may be utilized in place of apertures for any of the rod holding members in this invention.

A fourth embodiment, depicted in FIG. 5, is similar to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in that it is utilized in cabinets wherein shelf 128 is non-magnetic and the magnet containing rear body member 124 is attracted to the steel surface 136 at the rear of the cabinet.

A plastic post 126 includes two apertures 130 spaced one above the other extending through the approximate center of said post in a plane that lies parallel to the front surface 134 of post 126. The circular portion 138 of the apertures are, for purposes of illustration, 7 in diameter. The slotted portions 140 transverse to the longitudinal axis of circular section 138 and extending rearwardly from post 126, are slightly smaller in width than the diameter of the circular portion. Thus, due to the resilient nature of the composition of the post, rod members 38 and 40, slightly larger in diameter than the Width of the slotted portions, may be pressed by hand through slots 140 and into the circular .portions 138. Hence the slotted portions are smaller in width than rods 38 and 40. It can be understood that the rods will be retained in place. It will be noted that the feature relating to apertures 130 described hereinabove may be applied to any of the other rod holding posts described herein.

integrally formed with post 126 and depending rearwardly therefrom is a connecting rib 142, said rib being approximately the same width as post 126. The rib extends from the bottom section 144 of post 126 to the bottom section 146 of body member 124 with which it is integrally formed. Rib 142 normally rests upon nonmagnetizable shelf 128. Rib 142, post 126, and rear body member 124, together form a unit which in combination with a second unit and rod members form a rail device as in the previous embodiments.

There has been disclosed heretofore, the best embodi- 6 ments of the invention presently contemplated and it is to be understood that various C s d modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A guard rail for use with a shelf in a medicine cabinet having a magnet-attractive surface, said guard rail comprising:

(a) at least one pair of spaced post members each having separate upper and lower apertures disposed transversely therein;

(b) a rib member secured at one end to and extending from each of said post members;

(0) a body member secured to the end of each of said rib members opposite said post members;

(d) a magnet secured to each body member; and

(e) first and second solid rods, said first rod being slidably disposed in the spaced upper apertures of said pair of post members, said second rod being slidably disposed in the spaced lower apertures of said pair of post members whereby said rods have a variable effective range.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said body members and said magnets are disposed in a common vertical plane and said rib members are of suflicient length to position said rod members proximate the front edge of the shelf when said magnets adhere to a wall proximate the rear edge of the shelf.

3. The guard rail of claim 1 wherein said magnets are horizontally disposed for attachment to a horizontal magnet-attractive shelf.

4. A guard rail for use with a shelf in a medicine cabinet having a magnet-attractive surface, said guard rail comprising:

(a) at least one pair of spaced post members each having separate upper and lower apertures disposed transversely therein;

(b) a rib member secured at one end to and extending from each of said post members, each of said rib members comprising inner and outer telescoping members;

(c) a body member secured to the end of each of said rib members opposite said post members;

(d) a magnet secured to each body member in variable spatial relationship to its respective post member; and

(e) first and second solid rods, said first rod being slidably disposed in the spaced upper apertures of said pair of post members, said second rod being slidably disposed in the spaced lower apertures of said pair of post members whereby said rods have a variable effective range.

5. The guard rail of claim 1 including a central support clip having upper and lower transverse apertures through which said rods extend.

6. A guard rail for use with a shelf in a medicine cabinet having a magnet-attractive surface, said guard rail comprising:

(a) at least one pair of spaced post members each having separate upper and lower apertures disposed transversely therein;

(b) a rib member secured at one end to and extending from each of said post members;

(c) a body member secured to the end of each of said rib members opposite said post members;

(d) a magnet secured to each body member;

(e) first and second solid rods, said first rod being slidably disposed in the spaced upper apertures of said pair of post members, said second rod being slidably disposed in the spaced lower apertures of said pair of post members whereby said rods have a variable effective range; and

(f) an elongated support clip having upper and lower transverse apertures adapted to slidably receive said rods and an open ended transverse notch positioned cabinet having magnet-attractive surface, said guard rail comprising:

(a) a pair of post members each having upper and lower apertures disposed transversely therein;

(b) first and second solid rods, said first rod being slidably disposed in the spaced upper apertures of said pair of post members, said second rod being slidably disposed in the spaced lower apertures of said pair of post members whereby said rods have a variable effective range;

(c) a body member having first and second transverse faces, said first face of each of said body members being secured to one of said post members in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said rods; and

(d) a magnet secured to said second transverse face of each of said body members whereby said guard rail is adapted to be magnetically attached to the vertical side walls of the medicine cabinet.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Blood.

Jaeger 317-159 Markowitz 317-159 X Angle.

Wiszuk 248-206 X Shanok et al 317-159 X Morgan et a1. 248-206 Smith et al. 248-206 Fisher 248-206 JOHN F. BURNS, Primary Examiner.

20 JOHN P. WILDMAN, Examiner. 

1. A GUARD RAIL FOR USE WITH A SHELF IN A MEDICINE CABINET HAVING A MAGNET-ATTRACTIVE SURFACE, SAID GUARD RAIL COMPRISING: (A) AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF SPACED POST MEMBERS EACH HAVING SEPARATE UPPER AND LOWER APERTURES DISPOSED TRANSVERSELY THEREIN; (B) A RIB MEMBER SECURED AT ONE END TO AND EXTENDING FROM EACH OF SAID POST MEMBERS; (C) A BODY MEMBER SECURED TO THE END OF EACH OF SAID RIB MEMBERS OPPOSITE SAID POST MEMBERS; (D) A MAGNET SECURED TO EACH BODY MEMBER; AND (E) FIRST AND SECOND SOLID RODS, SAID FIRST ROD BEING SLIDABLY DISPOSED IN THE SPACED UPPER APERTURES OF SAID PAIR OF POST MEMBERS, SAID SECOND ROD BEING SLIDABLY DISPOSED IN THE SPACED LOWER APERTURES OF SAID PAIR OF POST MEMBERS WHEREBY SAID RODS HAVE A VARIABLE EFFECTIVE RANGE. 